A Model for Assessing the Electromagnetic Safety of an Inductively Coupled, Modular Brain-Machine Interface

Autor: Julian Szlawski, Timothy Feleppa, Anand Mohan, Yan T. Wong, Arthur J. Lowery
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, Vol 30, Pp 1267-1276 (2022)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1558-0210
DOI: 10.1109/TNSRE.2022.3173682
Popis: Brain-Machine Interfaces (BMI) offer the potential to modulate dysfunctional neurological networks by electrically stimulating the cerebral cortex via chronically-implanted microelectrodes. Wireless transmitters worn by BMI recipients must operate within electromagnetic emission and tissue heating limits, such as those prescribed by the IEEE and International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), to ensure that radiofrequency emissions of BMI systems are safe. Here, we describe an approach to generating pre-compliance safety data by simulating the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) and tissue heating of a multi-layered human head model containing a system of wireless, modular BMIs powered and controlled by an externally worn telemetry unit. We explore a number of system configurations such that our approach can be utilized for similar BMI systems, and our results provide a benchmark for the electromagnetic emissions of similar telemetry units. Our results show that the volume-averaged SAR per 10g of tissue exposed to our telemetry field complies with ICNIRP and IEEE reference levels, and that the maximum temperature increase in tissues was within permissible limits. These results were unaffected by the number of implants in the system model, and therefore we conclude that the electromagnetic emissions our BMI in any configuration are safe.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals